Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 21, 2013 under Commentary, Recaps | 
The NBA Draft lottery is tonight. The Mavs are certainly in a position of relatively unfamiliarity as they will be a participant in the lottery. The ping pong balls could alter the path the Mavs take this offseason in a dramatic way. Though it’s unlikely that they’ll find their name being announced last, giving them the No. 1 overall pick, the lottery represents the official start of the offseason. Dallas will have more information than they had the previous day and be able to really chart a path to their offseason, starting with a draft pick. On top of that, it’s commission David Stern’s last lottery. Insert your emotional response here.
For those who don’t know, Donnie Nelson will represent the team at the drawing. Assistant general manager Keith Grant will be with Nelson in New York.
With all of this in mind, a very knowledgeable man has stepped up to the plate and delivered a very thorough recap of the Mavs’ lottery past, giving you a look back as you prepare for the next chapter. That man is Mark Followill. If you have no clue who he is, what’s wrong with you? Followill is the television play-by-play voice of your Mavs. He’s been chopping it up, talking about the Mavs and other sports in the metroplex since the mid-90′s, so he’s more than just another guy when it comes to this bit of information.
With that in mind, enjoy the trip down memory lane. Enjoy reading this while listening to Followill’s golden tones in your ear, or your own.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 17, 2013 under Commentary |
I think. I probably think way too much. That’s just what happens when you have time on your hands. Again, I just sat and thought about random things revolving around the Mavs. Answers popped up, and this is the end result. Another batch of 10 questions and answers in regards to the summer and the future for Dallas.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 16, 2013 under Commentary |
Point guard or center: Where do the Mavs focus their attention this summer? That is the question. Last week, we covered how both positions were clearly below expectations for the Mavs and that they need to replenish those positions with upgrades.
I posed the hypothetical question to ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon during one of our Bloom and Doom sessions during the year about whether Tyson Chandler or J.J. Barea would have been more valuable to Dallas during this season.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 15, 2013 under Commentary |
I could easily be throwing dirt over Oklahoma City’s coffin way too soon, but history suggests they’re set up for evitable doom as they now the Memphis Grizzlies 3-1. Teams that have been in Oklahoma City’s spot are only 2-32 in their previous series, 1-8 in the conference semifinals. Looking at the potential opponents for Memphis, Golden State and San Antonio, you still have to lean towards Memphis as being the favorites. Would the league be thrilled to see Memphis in the Finals? Probably not, but that’s not the point.
The Memphis Grizzlies being favorites to make a trip the NBA Finals? That’s crazy talk. Yes, a Russell Westbrook injury certainly changed the equation in the Western Conference, but Memphis isn’t necessarily taking advantage of the situation. It’s just a case where Oklahoma City has been exposed as a team that actually needs Westbrook and that they more guys who would be willing to give half the effort or production that Kevin Durant is giving in this series.
Back to the point, Memphis looks primed to make a serious run. It’s not a popular opinion, but I have enjoyed watching them play. Prior to matchups against Memphis, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has always mentioned that the Grizzlies play a “playoff style of basketball.” How does Dallas, or the rest of the league, look at this and do they adapt?
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 14, 2013 under Commentary |
Needless to say, there’s a lot of free time on my hands. I like to think when I have a lot of free time. I like to think when I do not have a lot of free time. With that in mind, I’ve sat and wondered about various subjects revolving around the Mavs. I went ahead and got my fingers working on the keyboard and came up with questions and answers about the Mavs. Here are 10 of the questions and answers now. I will share the other 10 later this week.
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Tags: Bernard James, Brandan Wright, Brandon Bass, Chris Paul, Dallas Mavericks, Derek Fisher, Dirk Nowitzki, Dominique Jones, Dwight Howard, Eddy Curry, Ian Mahinmi, Jae Crowder, Jared Cunningham, Joe Johnson, Mark Cuban. Deron Williams, Mike James, NBA, Shawn Marion, Troy Murphy
Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 13, 2013 under Commentary |
It’s never too early to discuss free agency. Well, yeah, it is too early, but the Mavs actually don’t have anything on the agenda in terms of participation in games that actually count. With that in mind, we’ve gotten our first bit of information in terms of free agent news. It’s not really a shocker.
ESPN 1500 in Minnesota reported late last week that it has “heard from multiple angles” that the Minnesota Timberwolves might target free-agent guard O.J. Mayo. When talking about Minnesota it’s important to remember that they’re under new management now. President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders took over as David Kahn was fired.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 10, 2013 under Commentary |
It’s time to wrap up the position by position evaluation. If the point guard position was the worst spot for the Mavs, the center position was the second choice. Folks got a harsh reminder that Tyson Chandler wasn’t going to be walking back through that door. Going into the 2011-12 season, Dallas had the likes of Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi that had to be replaced.
They got creative by replenishing their center spot by signing veteran big man Chris Kaman to a one-year deal. They also claimed Elton Brand off waivers as he was released by Philadelphia due to the amnesty provision. Brandan Wright continued to log minutes at the center spot, but he also saw more time at the power forward position.
Summing it up:
The centers definitely never had a chance to get into a groove as both Kaman and Brand expected to be playing off of the attention that Dirk Nowitzki received from the opposing defenders. Dirk’s time away due to his knee surgery definitely altered that plan for both big men. That certainly changes the expected results for the centers, but the numbers are still pretty poor over the course of the season.
In terms of rebounds from the center position, Dallas’ centers tied for dead last in the league at 4.3 rebounds per game. The two teams they tied with made the playoffs, but they definitely had more to work with. The teams were the Los Angeles Clippers and the Miami Heat. Both teams were clearly limited with their size in the frontcourt, but they had athletes that helped masked that deficiency.
Those rebounding numbers for the center show a pretty significant correlation to the fact that they weren’t good at getting second chance points. Dallas’ centers were below average in second chance points as they only averaged 3.5 per game. New Orleans’ big men led the league in that category at 6.5 per game.
The Dallas centers had the 11th worst defensive rating for centers at 103.8. Elton Brand was brought in to be the enforcer and anchor in the paint. His defensive rating for the season was 102, better than his career average. He wasn’t necessarily outmatched in his position. Brand isn’t the tallest center in the world, but he’s able to use his frame and long arms as leverage as a defender. The problem was that he wasn’t necessarily set up in a position to succeed as the perimeter defenders weren’t exactly staying in front of their man. That forced the centers, like Brand, to help more than they probably should have needed to.
What do they need?
You either believe you need a dominant center and pair him with Dirk, or you need a highly-skilled point guard and pair him with Dirk. Both would clearly be ideal, but it’s entirely possible the Mavs might have to select just one option.
It’s always ideal to now follow the blueprint that was created with Tyson Chandler. Dirk has said it over and over again that a mobile center who can play defense is one that works best alongside him. Comparing this summer to next summer, this summer’s crop has the potential to bear more fruit as next summer has intriguing names but the options are relatively limited. That means centers, which always get paid, will really get paid next summer because the options are just so limited.
Through free agency and the draft, there will be plenty of options for Dallas when looking at centers. It is very evident that, like the point guard position, they really need to take care of the center position this offseason. It will be very interesting to see which route they take when it comes to the center spot.
Bryan Gutierrez writes about sportsmen. He also attended Ball So Hard University, studying ideologies of Clark Kent. You can follow him on Twitter @BallinWithBryan.
Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 8, 2013 under Commentary |
The small forward position actually provides the most depth the Mavs had over the course of the season. The only change they saw was the addition of rookie Jae Crowder. Vince Carter was in his second year with the organization, and Shawn Marion was once again the starting small forward.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 7, 2013 under Commentary |
The position evaluation continues. We will be looking at each position on the floor and determine where things went wrong and what needs to change or areas of need from each position. Again, names will be named soon.
The point guard position has been covered, and it is now time to evaluate the shooting guard position. With Jason Terry departing in free agency during the offseason, a scoring punch was a major necessity. Waiting things out ultimately worked in the favor of the Mavs as they were able to sign O.J. Mayo at a reasonable price.
While the position can be a dime a dozen spot, the Mavs have had quite the challenge of being able to have a capable and consistent person man the position. Like Darren Collison, Mayo provided a major source of optimism going into the season. A guard in his mid-20s coming into town with still untapped potential would make anyone excited.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on May 6, 2013 under Commentary |
This week, we’re going to look at each position on the floor and determine where things went wrong and what needs to change or areas of need from each position. Names will be named soon. Before you can do that, you at least need to assess, digest and progress.
This was easily the most unstable position for the Mavs during the season. Going back to the real start of the season, the offseason, the instability began. Dallas felt like they had Jason Kidd and Delonte West to sure up the position only to find out they’d have neither of them at the start of the season. Kidd bailed on Dallas at the last minute to join up with the New York Knicks. Due to multiple suspensions due to performing conduct detrimental to the team, West was released before the start of the season.
They then decided to make a trade with the Indiana Pacers, acquiring Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones for Ian Mahinmi. There were hopes of him being the point guard of the future.
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